Refused Seven Times, I Left, She Lost

Synopsis

"Lucas Carter, your raise request is denied," Vivian Lane, my wife, said. She slashed a big X across the form with her pen. I stood there, gripping the application so hard. "What's the reason?" I asked. "Company budget's tight, and your performance isn't outstanding enough," she replied. I let out a laugh. "Not outstanding enough? Who built BrightCore's core system last quarter? Three months without a single glitch, and our client renewal rate jumped 40%," I shot back. Vivian finally looked up, took off her glasses, and gave me a long look. "Lucas, you're my husband. I can't show you favoritism at work. What would everyone say?" she said. I had been hearing that same excuse for three years. She was always seeking this excuse. The door swung open, and Evan Shaw walked in with a cup of coffee. "Ms. Lane, your latte," he said. Vivian took the cup, and her face instantly softened. "Evan, have a seat. And about that raise you asked for last time. I approved it. You'll get a 30% bump starting next month," she said. Evan blinked in surprise, then broke into a huge grin. "Thanks, Ms. Lane," he said. I stood there, watching the whole thing unfold. In the past three years, I had asked for a raise seven times, and every single time, she shot me down. Meanwhile, Evan had only been here a year and a half, and this was already his third raise. "Anything else?" Vivian asked, her tone flat as she glanced at me. I set the application down on her desk. "Nope," I said. As I turned to leave, I heard Evan say, "Ms. Lane, want me to join you for the client dinner tonight?" "Yeah, you take care of it," Vivian replied. I closed the door behind me, and the hallway was empty. My phone buzzed. It was a message from a headhunter: [Mr. Carter, Pinnacle Enterprise is very interested in you. Would you be available for a meeting?] Pinnacle Enterprise, BrightCore's top competitor, was the industry leader. I glanced at Vivian's closed office door. I replied: [Wednesday afternoon works for me.]